***[One precious thing in my childhood] Poem by Veronika Kivisilla

One precious thing in my childhood
was a marzipan owl
whom I didn't have the heart
to eat
but one time, I ate it all the same
in a rush of affection and greed
I dug my teeth into
the sweet marzipan
not realizing that
eating a precious thing
is cannibalism
the marzipan owl has remained
my most precious symbol
would I be a touch
less gluttonous now
when the respective mood
and owl-appetite comes
so as not to gobble it down
entirely
but only to snack on its ear
or lick it a bit?

Translated from Estonian by Adam Cullen